108 A Stitch in Time
The background is white. ; Panel 1 Dr. Angstrom, looking at Zane, says "Wadsworth. I'm glad you're awake. And that you're *safe*." Zane, standing in front of Angstrom and holding his hand to the side of his head, looks to the side and says "Imagine how glad *I* am, Doc." The background is a cool blue, with abstract windows in a light blue. Zane looks slightly rumpled, but both of his suspenders are back in place. ; Panel 2. Angstrom is sitting at a table next to Iris, a cup of coffee for each of them placed on the table. She looks at him as he tells Zane "Ah, the humor again. It's crucial to have psychosecure *constants* to lean on in times of *stress.* In fact I've devised a *term* for them: quote "Psychosecure constants" unquote." Zane continues to stand where he is, looking at Angstrom with a slight frown. ; Panel 3. Iris, resting both hands on the table, adds, "One thing's for sure -- if Maddy hadn't taken me to Zane, we'd both be *spare parts* now." Angstrom, folding his hands together on the table, says "I've never seen complementary *psychoses* like these before..." ; Panel 4. Angstrom continues, "Iris' impossible story supports yours completely, as if Harker really *had* lived in supernatural form for ninety years. But... When the police brought you here, they said they'd return to take a statement *hours* ago. They seem to have *forgotten.*" His eyes are hidden behind his square glasses, but his brow seems furrowed. Behind the speech bubbles, Iris is grimacing. ; Panel 5. Zane looks angry, gritting his teeth and pointing at Angstrom. Small white lines come from his head to indicate his extreme emotion, and the background is a bright, light yellow. He says "*It's not a psychosis!* Or if it is, it's one *caused* by being attacked by *ghouls* every couple hours! What *else* do you need to *see*, Dr. Angstrom?" ; Panel 6. Zane, his brow furrowed, points at the place on his forehead where he had been injured. He says "Look at this. *Do these look like hospital stitches to you?*" When Zane's head has been shown since the skeleton re-stitched it, the cut has been represented as a line, but now that we see a close-up of the area, it appears to have been covered by a line of thin, delicate embroidery worked in red thread. The pattern, which covers the cut, is a pair of zig-zagged red lines, one on top of each other with a very thin space between them. At the end of each side of the line is a pair of identical geometric patterns. They are similar to stylized trees or sheafs of wheat, and are done in straight lines. In the middle of the line, both above and below the line, is a pattern of a small circle with two short lines at the base of the circle pointing to the sides. There are small white lines coming from Zane's forehead where he is pointing at the embroidery, which serve to highlight it, and the background is a vibrant orange.